Testing Blood Ketones

There has been a trend lately  - Fat Fasts & Blood Ketones.  Being a trendy gal, I am following this protocol because I still have that stubborn "Last 10" to wrestle to the ground. (and perhaps an extra 5 lbs lingering in the wings.. HAHAHA... the wings!  Get it? (the dreaded bat wings) sigh... anway...

1.  Here is the book that started Low Carbers looking at Blood Ketones - The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance by  Jeff Volek and Stephen Phinney.

2.  Dr. Robert Atkins, the originator of the Fat Fast would certainly endorse my good friends at CarbSmart - Dana Carpender, Amy Dungan, and Andrew Dimino - Here is the $4.99 book -- LINK TO BOOK  Has a LOT of good information about the Fat Fast and measuring Blood Ketones.  The recipes are fantastic!

3.  My dear friend Jimmy Moore, always blunt and always honest - he has shown us the way.  Here is a link to JIMMY'S BLOG  Having started this phase of my diet it is very understandable why Jimmy was hesitant to post his food logs.  It is very strange to most people to eat a diet of 85-90% fat - butter, coconut oil, mct oil, avocados, etc.  I'm just thankful he made the public aware of this adjustment to our low carb lifestyle.

Recently I strenuously dieted for 2 weeks and dropped 4 pounds of what I had gained over Christmas.  Yay me!  THEN for Valentines I baked 2 dozen sugar-free, low carb cookies and ate 1 dozen.  Gained all 4 back in ONE day (and NOT  temporary gain.  It stayed for 4 days, until I started the Fat Fast).

So I ordered the meter.  I chose the Precision Max - Amazon Link to Meter

AND I ordered the pricey Blood Ketone Test Strips - Link to Amazon - Blood Ketone Test Strips

I searched high and low for the best prices on Blood Ketone strips (NOT the same as Blood Glucose strips).  They can run anywhere from $2 to $5 PER STRIP.

I bought one box of 10.  I figured that at least gives me 10 days to monitor my eating and see what tweaks might be needed.  For example, following Jimmy Moore's lead when he discovered that he was eating TOO much protein (not optimal for being "keto adapted").  

I have NEVER professed to being a perfect "low carber".  I have my moments just like regular folks with food addictions.  However, I am closer than I have EVER been to reaching my goal.  EVER!  So, the day before I tested my blood ketones I had a Girl Scout cookie - yep, just one - but sugar none the less.  (In case you didn't know it, I am a SEVERE sugar addict - even so far as having my own bakery for 3 years.)

I test in the mornings when I first get up, before I have my Bulletproof Coffee.

Day 1 - 0.1

Day 2 - 0.3

Day 3 - 0.6

(According to the book, optimal levels are 1.0 to 3.0 - expecting 1.0 in a day or two)

Ooooooooo.... this is exciting.  Even better than the stupid scale! hahaha  AND yes, 3 pounds gone in 3 days.  

So WHY do this?

High Blood Ketones (caused from a "High Fat / Moderate Protein / VERY low carb" diet) can put you in a state of being "keto adapted".  I am not scientific in thought, and always prefer the "Cliff Notes"! lol.  ONE thing I DO know about being "keto adapted" is that a person is NOT hungry, NOT craving, AND losing weight.  :D  There ya go - the Cliff Notes, or "Ketones for Dummies".

TODAY I AM A "TEN"

TEN

Today I am 10 pounds down since getting home from the cruise.

I call these "sweat" pounds (as opposed to sweet pounds) because of moving and not having groceries in the house. hahahaha I should write a book on that and label it my new diet plan -- "The Moving Empty Fridge Diet". lol.

What is funnier is that when I did buy groceries I ended up spending almost $200 -- and there are only 2 of us at home now! I haven't spent that since I had all the kiddos at home. One thing about it, we shall not run out of butter any time soon. I bought the FOURTH pound of organic, unsalted butter and placed it on the shelf with the other 3 pounds. lol. I really need to make a bernaise sauce and use some of that up!

OH! Oh! OH! I bought some really cheap "soup meat" that had the bone in it. You know what that means?!?? Bone Marrow! I have not had that since I was a child! I used to love love love that part of the meat. Granted it was only about 1/2 a teaspoons worth, but it tasted so awesome. I steamed the rest of the meat and it was nice and tender. Yum. Yum.

Jimmy Moore always says, "Find what works for you and then DO IT!" Well, I love Jimmy and I've finally listened to him. What works for me is HIGHER fat combined with LOWER calories. It is NOT just a matter of eating fat, cutting carbs. I like VOLUME... and it has finally dawned on me after years of slowly creeping back up with my weight, all the while eating low carb, that there was a missing element. I CANNOT eat as much as my 6-4, 240 lb husband. Besides he is VERY active as PE Coach. He keeps the lawn mowed, the sidewalks swept, the ceiling fans dusted, and manages to also put in 2 to 5 miles a day on the treadmill. He does all of that just to wear himself out enough to sleep at night. He has an incredible amount of energy.

SO, back to the calorie thing -- NO, I'm not being strict with it. I've just set a range. I want to make SURE I'm getting at least 1,000 to 1,200 calories per day, but not MORE THAN 1,500 to 1,700. I use fitday. (Note: I am only 5 ft tall and actually small boned). AND it is all protein & fat, with occasionally a cup of greek yogurt when I feel the need for sweet, creamy comfort. :D

This works for me... and I'm DOING IT!!

(Thanks, Your Royal Jimmyness!)

ABOUT THE PEOPLE -- wonderful & amazing

I just didn't think I would meet a nicer bunch of people from the 2007 group! 2007 cruise was VERY special. I was a little bit nervous because we had mostly ALL NEW people on the 2008 cruise and most of them I had never had any contact with online. They were strangers to me.

They were GREAT!

So now my goal is to get both groups together! hahaha

YOU READY FOR THIS?

MARCH 6 - 12, 2010 -- out of JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA --
to NASSAU & BAHAMAS !!!

Start saving your money now!

2009 Low Carb Community Cruise

IF you have not heard about it already, we are planning another cruise. With the help of some LC friends, we are making plans to make next years cruise a very special event. If you need more information you can look at the Question and Answer section at HERE ON THIS SITE. IF you KNOW that you would like to go then you can go directly HERE TO SIGN UP.

THE FIRST DEPOSIT IS ONLY $50 if you sign up before May 21st. After that date the deposit will be $250.

In addition to Dr. Jonny Bowden coming on the cruise, we've also secured two more BIG low-carb experts: low-carb researcher and clinician Dr. Eric Westman from Duke University and Jackie Eberstein who worked with Dr. Atkins for three decades. This is HUGE to have these giants in the low-carb world coming with us, so SIGN UP TODAY!!!

It is my hope that this turns in to a type of Low Carb Convention for all of us internet diet fanatics! ;) There should be a LOT of good, solid information and hopefully some literature, freebies, and just a lot of fun.

I REALLY HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US!!